1. Field
The present disclosure relates to an apparatus for preventing transmitting of electronic mail or messages to erroneous-selected addressees.
2. Description of Related Art
Many programs, both web-based and locally executed, and across platforms such as personal computers, PDAs and cellular phones, use predictive text to reduce the number of keystrokes used to identify the addressee of a communication, Some modalities use voice recognition or otherwise avoid the use of finger-driven input at all. Predictive text systems generally store lists of past addressees in a database or other memory structure, and predicted addressees are selected from past addressees on the list. In the alternative, or in addition, predictive entries may be selected from addressees stored in an electronic address book or the like belonging the prospective sender of the communication. Notwithstanding the advantages of predictive text, it is subject to certain disadvantages. With the decreased level of input required to identify a addressee comes an increased risk of the predictive text identifying the wrong addressee. If the error is not noticed by the human operator addressing the message, the message may be transmitted to the wrong recipient. Therefore, for users of predictive text features, a message can be all too easily sent to the wrong recipient, resulting in disrupted communications, confusion, embarrassment, breach of confidentiality, or other adverse consequences.
For example, a person who has two contacts in his address book with the same first name, “John,” may try to email “John Smith.” When the person types “jo,” the predictive input system may present him with two choices: “John Adams” and “John Smith.” A simple erroneous flick of the finger selects “John Adams” instead of “John Smith,” which if not noticed before the message is sent, may result the email going to the wrong recipient.
Other email addressing functions may also lead to incorrect addressees being added to a message. For example, email clients generally provide a “reply all” functions that automatically addresses an outgoing message with all addresses listed as recipients of an incoming message, plus the sender of the incoming message. The user making use of the “reply all” feature may have intended to use a “reply” to sender only function, or may not notice that one or more of the addressees added by the “reply all” function should not receive the reply. Either way, the reply message may be transmitted to an unintended addressee. Other addressing errors may be caused by selecting the wrong message to reply to or just unintentionally selecting the wrong addressee for some other reason.
It would be desirable, therefore, to preserve the function of predictive text systems in electronic message addressing, and other addressing features, while reducing or eliminating the risk of erroneous addressee selection that presently arises from the use of such systems. There is no obvious solution to this problem, however, because the speed and convenience that is the purpose of predictive texting and other features is contrary to the purpose of increasing accuracy and reducing risk or error. It is difficult to conceive of a solution that effectively satisfies these diverse and contrary objectives.